# RS best 500 albums of all time **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [September 22, 2020, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rs-best-500-albums-of-all-time/921241 "2020-09-22T14:35:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2020, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rs-best-500-albums-of-all-time/921241/21 "2020-09-22T23:00:31Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Just the top 50. I assumed there were some heavy albums further down the list, but you can’t tell me there isn’t a single heavy album that goes in the top 50. What would it be? I’d say Sepultura’s Roots. [I think Dave Grohl would agree](https://loudwire.com/dave-grohl-sepultura-roots-became-gauge-every-album-foo-fighters-did-ten-years/). ---
**Author:** ![Dogginit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogginit/32/16920_2.png) [@Dogginit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogginit)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2020, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rs-best-500-albums-of-all-time/921241/22 "2020-09-22T23:01:20Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > And again, no electronica in the top 50 at all, even though modern pop music is essentially defined by 70s-80s synth-based music. Not a single Depeche Mode or Kraftwerk album? Depeche Mode “Violator” #167 Daft Punk “Discovery” #236 Kraftwerk “Trans Europe Express” #238 X “Los Angeles” #320 (would have been disappointed not to see this!) ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2020, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rs-best-500-albums-of-all-time/921241/23 "2020-09-22T23:17:45Z")
Zappa didn’t even make the list. And that’s all I need to know… ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2020, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rs-best-500-albums-of-all-time/921241/24 "2020-09-22T23:42:09Z")
A lot of these lists are terrible, since they go by YouTube views and overemphasize new albums. This is a good list - better’n most. I mainly looked at the top 100. A plain text list would be nice. Still, lots of quibbles. The rap albums in the Top 100 are unquestionably excellent. But two OutKast discs in the top 100 of all time? And no jazz? No techno? No country? No Paul Simon? Leonard Cohen? Pink Floyd? Eagles? CCR? Metal? 80s? Latino? It’s not that the list is bad - it’s just a little too watered down. I think the British Q Magazine did something similar ages ago, and I think I like that list more. But it’s way better’n Billboard. ---
**Author:** ![Dogginit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogginit/32/16920_2.png) [@Dogginit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogginit)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2020, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rs-best-500-albums-of-all-time/921241/25 "2020-09-23T00:29:08Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > Zappa didn’t even make the list. > > And that’s all I need to know… Driving home from work, I was thinking the same exact thing 😆 Just as well, it would have gotten me to quoting Zappa lyrics all night, and the Mrs _really_ hates it when I do that 😝 ---
**Author:** ![gnarator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gnarator/32/8266_2.png) [@gnarator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnarator)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2020, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rs-best-500-albums-of-all-time/921241/26 "2020-09-23T02:29:11Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Updated now , the first list was 2003. I could have sworn they did this back in the '80s. Maybe it was just the top 100 albums. I seem to recall it was _Sgt. Peppers_ on top, followed by _Blonde on Blonde_ and _Highway 61 Revisited_. Very much a Boomer list. ---
**Author:** ![journeyman\_southpaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5e9695/32.png) [@journeyman\_southpaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/journeyman_southpaw)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2020, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rs-best-500-albums-of-all-time/921241/27 "2020-09-23T02:51:30Z")
You’re probably thinking of the “Top 100 Albums of the Last 20 Years” list RS did in 1987 as part of the magazine’s 20th anniversary. _Sgt. Pepper_ indeed topped that list but _Blonde on Blonde_ wasn’t eligible, being a 1966 album. (You can find that whole list a ways down the page [here.](http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/rstone.html)) ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2020, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rs-best-500-albums-of-all-time/921241/28 "2020-09-23T03:49:02Z")
I’d agree with this list, but then we would both be wrong. No point in that. ---
**Author:** ![gnarator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gnarator/32/8266_2.png) [@gnarator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnarator)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2020, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rs-best-500-albums-of-all-time/921241/29 "2020-09-23T06:25:50Z")
No, it was earlier than that, maybe 1982; I was in high school at the time. I believe they had critics rank albums from 1 to 20 or something, and then they weighted the responses. _Astral Weeks_ was #4, and _Moondance_ came in around #12 or #15. _Exile on Main Street_ was in the top ten. _Rubber Soul_ and _Revolver_ were in the top ten, I think. _London Calling_ and _Born to Run_ were both ranked highly. _What’s Going On_ made the list, but I don’t think it was in the top 20. One critic picked Mike Nesmith’s (yes, that Mike Nesmith) _The Hits Just Keep On Comin’_ #1, so it clocked in at #78 or something. I wen out and bought some of the albums I had never heard of and listened to them. Some were really good and deserved the praise. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2020, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rs-best-500-albums-of-all-time/921241/30 "2020-09-23T07:43:39Z")
Here’s a link with [the straight list](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OV3XMvrjcp30C_m1U9yZuPSXa0fV4mXQ83YsU8lsgVw/edit). ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2020, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rs-best-500-albums-of-all-time/921241/31 "2020-09-23T11:41:49Z")
Thank you for that. I know these lists are destined for disagreement, but c’mon…only 2 appearances by Elvis Costello, and none higher than 121? I am happy, though, that Joni’s “Blue” is way, way up there. mmm ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2020, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rs-best-500-albums-of-all-time/921241/32 "2020-09-23T12:06:00Z")
In the seventies there was a book with the top 200 albums of all time. We’re Only in it For the Money was high on the list, and I think Hot Rats was in the seventies. I haven’t looked through the whole list yet; did Capt. Beefheart’s Trout Mask Replica make it? I have no problem with the newer music making it, but those are some major omissions in my book. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2020, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rs-best-500-albums-of-all-time/921241/33 "2020-09-23T12:18:45Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I know these lists are destined for disagreement, but c’mon…only 2 appearances by Elvis Costello, and none higher than 121? Having two albums in the top 500 albums of all time would be a tremendous accomplishment. It seems likley to me that the most arresting omissions would not be so and so not having ANOTHER album on the list, but that an artist would not be on the list at all. It is just wildly unlikely the 500 best albums of all time would be the same artists over and over, with very few exceptions; I’ll grant the Beatles should be on there several times. Supertramp’s “Breakfast in America” is not on the list, which is flatly ridiculous, and they’re not on the list at all; BiA is a landmark album. I’m also not super clear on what the criteria is (or why they’d ask an eighteen year old girl who has admitted to having little to no knowledge of music prior to her own childhood to vote on this.) Is this just their favourite albums or are they asking people to vote based on some set of criteria? I mean, if I were voting on just what albums I personally liked, “Thriller” by Michael Jackson would be something like #386, and “Road Apples” by The Tragically Hip would be maybe eighth. If I were voting based on what I thought the greatest albums of all time were - judging them by their impact, influence, commercial success, skill and musicianship, innovation, so on and so forth - “Thriller” is top ten, and “Road Apples” would at best scrape in. Former criteria, Elvis doesn’t make the list at all; latter, he has to. ---
**Author:** ![Dogginit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogginit/32/16920_2.png) [@Dogginit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogginit)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2020, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rs-best-500-albums-of-all-time/921241/34 "2020-09-23T12:54:29Z")
> [@P-man](#): > > I have no problem with the newer music making it, but those are some major omissions in my book. Greatest lists are always subjective. Uncle Frank’s not represented. Neither are Jethro Tull nor Genesis. Maybe those were all too niche for consideration. The Mrs was absolutely gobsmacked that John Denver wasn’t on there. If we’re going just by personal faves, I’m disappointed there’s no King Crimson or ELP on there. Arguably, on the influence front, Crim probably would win out over ELP, just from the number of musicians that rotated through there and went on to other projects. Ray Charles is missing, as are others, but this is all starting to move over into ranking greatest artists, and not greatest albums. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2020, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rs-best-500-albums-of-all-time/921241/35 "2020-09-23T13:32:57Z")
Am I the only one that would take 101-200 over 1-100 for a penny each from Columbia House? If you’re old enough to get the Columbia House reference, you probably would. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2020, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rs-best-500-albums-of-all-time/921241/36 "2020-09-23T13:34:02Z")
Er… all of those numbers are higher than 50. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2020, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rs-best-500-albums-of-all-time/921241/37 "2020-09-23T15:31:52Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > No Paul Simon? Graceland at #46 j ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2020, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rs-best-500-albums-of-all-time/921241/38 "2020-09-23T16:05:21Z")
Good! I was about to say that no top 500 list could be without Graceland. Or Top 100. Top 50 is even better. But no Dark Side of the Moon? Can that be true? ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2020, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rs-best-500-albums-of-all-time/921241/39 "2020-09-23T16:16:37Z")
I like it - there is a definite sense, as well, of sharing the love around. Notable omissions (by artist, not album - I get the sense that there’s a “fair share” principle in play, to some extent): Dr. Feelgood - no excuses, this is just wrong Graham Parker The Chemical Brothers Genesis (as I think someone pointed out upthread) j ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2020, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rs-best-500-albums-of-all-time/921241/40 "2020-09-23T16:21:48Z")
My mistake. Too quick a peruse. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rs-best-500-albums-of-all-time/921241.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rs-best-500-albums-of-all-time/921241.md?page=3)